Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-08-19


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e g lhese summer
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AWork of the utmost impor tance not
&only "a those who ara q ilr,ectlp bel1efitad
INT t,,5 nm 81; s. II !, Tan
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9 - ". ~ ~ q s..
Ply ~ tne poa az
OF health TO inspect tenenleat houses IS
BY them every tenement il the ca ii
being visited. & 10 the twretched poor,
huddled together iii airless d. m roouls
III the most crowed parts Of this city.
they carry comfort and relief. They
speak Is them words of kindness. pre-
scribe for the sick, explain the rudi-
mentary hYpienic principleg. and fur.
nish Wearied mothers and their baby
! Offspring with the means at ENJOYING
an ocean ride, or possibly several DAYS
Of rest and change at some seaside
sanitarium. Should the physicians find
any Of the houses which they inspect
in such a condition as to be detrimental
I to the health of its occupants. the case
is reported, and the landlord is at once
notified that the tenement must be re-
paired or vacated. The labors Of these
inspectors are not only = charity. hit 4
safeguard against tie breeding and
spreading of contagious diseases. for
the origin Of infectious maladies can
almost Invariably be traced to the
saualid tanemant-hons flistricta.
A No. ii I Mulberry street NAV be taken
! rs d sample of the typical tenement
house. il Is really two houses. placed
one behind thu other, and separated by
an open space or court. This court IS
paved with flags tones and is frequent
ed at all hours of the day bv the ten
ants of both houses. Here the women
do their washing and gossip. Tubs ana
dirty water living in pools are it's chief
characteristics. Above are stretched
miles of clothesline FORMING a networl,
which would do credit to a metronolitan
telegraph COMPANY. These lines are
fastended to the railinos and hars of
rusty iron balconies. which serve as a
RECEPTACLE for every conceivable variety
of household goods. Each tenement
front and rear-contains five stories.
Each story furnishes accommodations
for four families. Each suite of apart-
ments consists of three rooms. Two of
these rooms are dark and are not pro.
vided with any direct means of ventila-
ton. The third. which is used as
kitchen. dining-room. livino-room and
often as bedroom besides. is usually
provided with two windows and on an
average twelve or fourteen feet square
The small, dark. poorlv-ventilated
suites are inhabited bv families num-
,bering from six IN. Thus each tene-
ment is made to shelter some thirty or
forty families. or more than two hind.
red persons. The halls are dark and
dirty. The stairs are rickety and the
ratings insecure.
The tenants, for the most part
bronzed-faced Italians. lent a certain
picturesqueness to the scene in spite of
the surroundings. They stared at the
doctor at first. but when he explained
his mission took no further notice of
him, except possibly two or three who
followed him from door to door. He
was treated with courtesy and respect.
Chairs were frequently pushed toward
him. When a child was sick the moth
er placed It in his hands without re-
luctance. and thanked him with her
eyes, if not with her lips. for his help.
: AS world he surmised tha rooms
were filthy and crowded. The snace in
each of the two dark apartments was
almost entirely. occupied bv one, two
or three beds, as the case might be.
which stood some five feet from the
floor, supported by wooden horses.
such as are used by carpenters. The
stoves were rusty, and seemed in i'm
The furniture was broken. The odOr